Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: pkh%computer-science.nottingham.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk (Kevin Hopkins) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Phone Billing in the UK Message-ID: Date: 10 Oct 89 13:25:46 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Reply-To: K.Hopkins%computer-science.nottingham.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk Lines: 33 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 440, message 9 of 12 John Higdon wrote: > ... The usual system of billing > calls elsewhere is with "metering pulses". Each pulse is worth so much > money. On a local call, the pulses go by very slowly and on an > international call the pulses come rapid-fire. This is the situation in the UK, though BT are giving a trial to a "sort of" itemised billing. On certain exchanges (I presume the newer System X ones) BT are sending customers itemised bills, but only for calls of 50p or over. Most residential line calls are under 50p each as they are made outside office hours. Meter units are 5.06p each and a unit gives you around 5 mins of a local call off-peak (I think). 50p for a local call is for a long call! Medium to long distance calls may go over the 50p. The only calls which will really show up on the bills are the ones to car phones (STD codes 0836 and 0860), to value added services (0898, 0055, 0066, 0077) and international calls. I don't know if BT charge for itemised billing (a possibility) and I think the facility is only available in a very small part of the country. P.S. Is there anyone in BT who can answer these questions. Not BT Research Martlesham but BT Phones. +--------------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ | K.Hopkins%cs.nott.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk | Kevin Hopkins, | | or ..!mcvax!ukc!nott-cs!K.Hopkins | Department of Computer Science,| | or in the UK: K.Hopkins@uk.ac.nott.cs | University of Nottingham, | | CHAT-LINE: +44 602 484848 x 3815 | Nottingham, ENGLAND, NG7 2RD | +--------------------------------------------+--------------------------------+